Some prior art devices exist for improving the manner in which rolls of paper such as toilet paper are secured and dispensed.
One example of such a prior art reference is U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,425 to Kish which discloses a paper roll dispenser comprising a bracket having two generally parallel elongated support arms extending therefrom in a direction generally perpendicular to a front face of the bracket such that each support arm is free to rotate about its arm axis. A spindle having one end attached to one of the support arms rotatably supports a roll of paper between the support arms. The roll is replaced by rotating one support arm about its arm axis and thereby moving the spindle into a position projecting generally away from the other support arm whereupon the spent roll supported by the spindle may be replaced.
Another example of a prior art reference is U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,957 to Blunt, et al. This invention includes a roll carrying spindle which is adapted to be swung upwardly and outwardly away from a wall surface to facilitate attachment and removal of a roll of toilet paper mounted thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,175 to Schutz discloses an apparatus for dispensing a roll of paper which includes a rotatable shaft having a helical shaped projection on the outer surface thereof which is directly mounted to a base or support structure. A lock arrangement is provided to prevent rotation of the shaft after the roll has been substantially depleted so that end-wise removal of the roll can be manually accomplished.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,555,531 to Boord discloses a toilet paper dispenser comprising a pair of supporting arms extending outwardly from a mounting bracket wherein the outer ends of the supporting arms are bent upwardly to form spaced parallel prongs. Positioned over the prongs are corresponding spindles which each receive a roll of toilet paper mounted thereover.
While the foregoing prior art inventions may be adequate for their intended purposes, one shortfall with each of these inventions is that none of them are intended for use on existing common toilet paper dispensers, such as is found in most bathrooms. That is, each of these references include structure which is not adaptable for use with the common toilet paper dispenser which typically includes a pair of opposing brackets and a rod section or dispenser which is positionable between the brackets and is held in place by means of a spring or the like. Furthermore, none of the prior art references are easily adaptable to provide a paper holder which may be used in bathrooms which have a recess formed in the bathroom wall.
These advantages along with others will be apparent to those skilled in the art as disclosed in the specification and drawings which follow.